LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Alice Marian Oliver ("Midge") Zischke

Longtime Orinda resident Midge Zischke died at her Rossmoor home on March 13, after 90 wonderful years. She was predeceased by her husband of 63 years, Peter Zischke. She is survived by her son Michael, his wife Nadine Sponamore and their daughters Julie and Jessica; son Kurt and his wife Victoria ("Tori") Adams Zischke and their daughter Alexandra ("Scout"); daughter Marian Baldauf and her husband Hans Baldauf and their son Fritz and daughter Liesl; and daughter Karen Zischke and her husband Bob Hackett and their daughters Alice and Hannah and son William.

Midge spent most of her life in three different Orinda homes, and was active in a wide variety of community and educational organizations, starting with the Garden Club of Orinda and the Sleepy Hollow Tennis Club, where she played tennis with friends for many years. She served on the Orinda School Board in the late 1970s when it faced the property tax reductions from Proposition 13, and later started the Educational Foundation of Orinda to provide additional funding for Orinda schools. She also served on the boards of the UC Berkeley Foundation and the Lawrence Hall of Science. When the California Shakespeare Festival moved from Berkeley to Orinda, she became an active supporter and started the Will's Weeders group to help maintain the theater grounds. In 1986, Midge was named Orinda Citizen of the Year.

A memorial service is being planned for June 25 at the California Shakespeare Theater. For information please contact midgezischke@gmail.com. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the UC Berkeley Foundation (www.ucberkeleyfoundation.org), the California Shakespeare Festival (www.calshakes.org), Orinda Network for Education (formerly the Educational Foundation of Orinda, www.oneorinda.org), or the Alzheimer's Association of America (www.alz.org/norcal).